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Low-power continuous-wave four-wave mixing in silicon coupled-resonator optical waveguides
Jun Rong Ong1, Michael L Cooper, Greeshma Gupta
1University of California, San Diego, Mail Code 0407, La Jolla, California 92093, USA. j5ong@ucsd.edu
Optics Letters
|August 3, 2011
Summary
We achieved enhanced four-wave mixing in silicon-on-insulator coupled-resonator optical waveguides. This structure significantly boosts parametric conversion efficiency compared to traditional waveguides.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Optical Engineering
- Materials Science
Background:
- Four-wave mixing (FWM) is a crucial nonlinear optical process for wavelength conversion.
- Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguides are widely used for integrated photonics due to their high nonlinearities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate efficient four-wave mixing in a novel coupled-resonator optical waveguide (CROW) structure.
- To investigate the enhancement of parametric conversion efficiency using the slow-light effect in CROWs.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of SOI microring resonators and CROWs with 35 and 65 microrings.
- Utilizing a continuous-wave (cw) pump laser with low coupled power (< 20 mW).
- Measuring parametric conversion across a broad bandwidth (> 10 THz).
Main Results:
- Successful demonstration of four-wave mixing in the designed SOI CROWs.
- Observed parametric conversion spanning over 10 THz bandwidth.
- Achieved a +16 dB enhancement in conversion efficiency compared to a standard SOI waveguide.
Conclusions:
- Coupled-resonator structures significantly enhance FWM efficiency in SOI waveguides.
- The slow-light effect in CROWs is responsible for the observed conversion efficiency boost.
- This technology offers a promising route for efficient integrated photonic devices.
